Conventional beverage containers require the cap to be first opened and then the beverage in the container to be poured into the container cap or a cup for drinking. This procedure is easy for an adult or a big child, but small children do not find it easy and often spill the beverage during drinking.
To solve the above problem, a beverage container with an automatically extendable straw as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 was developed. This beverage container 1 includes a body 11, a cap 12, upper and lower straws 13a and 13b and a cover 14. The body 11 is a hollow cylindrical member for containing the beverage such as juice, water, etc.
The cap is screwed onto an outer thread of an upper open end of the body 11. Upper and lower disk members 121, 122 are formed with an annular groove 123 and two symmetric cuts 124. The cap is formed with a tube 17 having a through hole to receive the straws 13a and 13b by means of which a user can suck the beverage from the container body. A strip 77 is used for fastening the upper straw 13a around the tube 17. Further, a member 125 is disposed on the upper member 121.
The cover 14 is disposed above the cap 12 and has an open end. Two symmetrically disposed projections 141 are formed on the inner edge of its open end corresponding to the cuts 124 in the cap 12. An upper wall of the cover 14 is formed with a slot 142 therein to receive the upper straw 13a which extends therethrough. A stopper 143 is formed on the inner surface of the upper wall in the vicinity of the slot 142.
When the projections 141 on the cover 14 are aligned with the cuts 124 on the cap 12, the cover 14 fits on the cap 12. The cover 14 can be rotated counterclockwise to move the slot 142 to a position above the straw 13 which extends outwardly through the slot 142 by means of its own resilience, so as to make the straw 13 available for a user to suck the beverage from the body 11. Conversely, when the cover 14 is rotated clockwise, the upper straw 13a is bent by the upper wall of the cover 14 and withdraws back into it. The rotation of the cover 14 is stopped when the stopper 143 abuts against the member 125 which is then just below the slot 142 to prevent foreign objects from entering into the cover 14.
One drawback of such known container is that the member 125 having a planer surface fails to effectively shield the slot 142 formed on the slightly arcuate upper wall of the cover member 14. Consequently, dust or other contaminants may pass through the clearance between the slot 142 and the member 125 to contaminate the upper straw 13a.
It is also difficult for a user to recognize when the cover 14 has been rotated to a position where the upper straw 13a extends through the slot 142 and to a position where the upper straw 13a has been well folded and the slot of the cover member has been well shielded.
Furthermore, the use of the elongate fastening strip 77 to secure the upper straw 13a onto the tube 17 is time consuming in assembly. The strip 77 secured around the straw is likely to be cut off or taken off or even swallowed by a child user to cause injury to the child. In addition, the strip 77 has a bulged end which is likely to scrape or hurt the child.